Tuesday, October 06, 2015

Let's face facts- October is slow at the bike shop. This is bad for me financially, but there is a silver lining. I get to ride more. Specifically, I get to do more "dirt home from work" rides. It works out that a few of the newer trails on the South side of the Cedar River are between me and my home. Well........sort of. I do have to go out of my way a little bit, but it is so totally worth it.

Like any single track in this immediate area, there isn't any appreciable elevation gain or loss. There are just woods, and twisty ribbons of dirt through them. It was a beautiful day and I got off work early. Add it up and it meant it was time to partake of a nice, long way home.

The ride wasn't anything spectacular, just a nice, easy ride with a few stops to smell the flowers, (literally), and to check out a spider, or whatever tripped my trigger. In a world of calamity, instantaneous connections, and a barrage of garbage created by man being slung at me, these bits of solitude away from the "grid" are a good medicine. Plus, it won't be all that long before the brown ends of Fall become Winter and I'll be glad to shut the wind chill and blowing snow, (probably), out. These tranquil Fall days are precious. Missing out on an hour of pay is well worth it.

1 comment:

It's funny you say now is a time it is "slow" in the bike shop. My wife and I have been trying to purchase new bikes since late August to add to our stable. Not cheapo bikes, but something in the $2,000 to $4,000 per each category. Bikes with some gravel capability (Kona Sutra LTD, Salsa Warbird Carbon, Marin Four Corners Elite - that kind of thing).

But no go. All the bike shops in our area (Seattle) are out of stock on new models, and they don't have anything from last year in stock to even test ride or fit. They say the manufacturers are not yet shipping and that no one tells them anything.

Looking from the outside in, it appears that there is seemingly no interest in customers. Of course, we know this a a bad time of year. Maybe a self-fulfilling prophecy that business is "slow" and bikes don't sell in the Fall - and thus allows those in the bike industry some R&R at the end of their season (as you suggest). But we do wonder how the bicycle industry stays afloat . . .